Microfluidic apparatus with integrated porous-substrate/sensor for real-time (bio)chemical molecule detection

ABSTRACT

Microfluidic apparatus including integrated porous substrate/sensors that may be used for detecting targeted biological and chemical molecules and compounds. In one aspect, upper and lower microfluidic channels are defined in respective halves of a substrate, which are sandwiched around a porous membrane upon assembly. In another aspect, the upper and lower channels are formed such that a portion of the lower channel passes beneath a portion of the upper channel to form a cross-channel area, wherein the membrane is disposed between the two channels. In various embodiments, one or more porous membranes are disposed proximate to corresponding cross-channel areas defined by one or more upper and lower channels. The porous membrane may also have sensing characteristics, such that it produces a change in an optical and/or electronic characteristic. Accordingly, the apparatus may further include instrumentation or detection equipment to measure the changes, such as optic-based detectors and electronic instrumentation.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to microfluidic devices, and moreparticularly, but not exclusively, to microfluidic devices having porousmembranes with integrated sensors for filtering and detection ofbiological and/or chemical molecules.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As the breadth of microchip fabrication technology has continued toexpand, an emerging technology associated with miniscule gadgets knownas microfluidic devices has taken shape. Microfluidic devices, oftencomprising miniaturized versions of reservoirs, pumps, valves, filters,mixers, reaction chambers, and a network of capillaries interconnectingthe microscale components, are being developed to serve in a variety ofdeployment scenarios. For example, microfluidic devices may be designedto perform multiple reaction and analysis techniques in onemicro-instrument by providing a capability to perform hundreds ofoperations (e.g. mixing, heating, separating) without manualintervention. In some cases, microfluidic devices may function asdetectors for airborne toxins, rapid DNA analyzers for crime-sceneinvestigators, and/or new pharmaceutical testers to expedite drugdevelopment.

Recently, researchers have shown that porous substrates, such asnanocrystalline silicon, can be manufactured to detect particularchemical and bio-molecular structures. For example, one of theseresearchers has developed a porous substrate that may be used to detectTNT and dinitrotoluene at the parts per billion (ppb) level (cf.,http://chem-faculty.ucsd.edu/sailor).

While the applications of such microfluidic devices and sensingsubstrates may be virtually boundless, the integration of somemicroscale components into microfluidic systems has been technicallydifficult, thereby limiting the range of functions that may beaccomplished by a single device or combination of devices. Inparticular, current microfluidic systems have not adequately integrateda size-separating (or excluding) filter into a microfluidic chip. Assuch, separations may generally be carried out in external packed porousmedia or polymer-based nanopore membranes, thereby increasingcontamination risks and introducing additional complexity and manualinteraction into the performance of an analysis or other technique.Furthermore, sensing substrates have also not been integrated into achip or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughoutthe various views of the non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments ofthe present invention, and wherein:

FIGS. 1a-f are various views of a microfluidic device in accordance withan embodiment of the invention, wherein FIGS. 1a and 1 b are explodedisometric views, FIG 1 c is a cross-section view corresponding tosection cut 1 c—1 c, FIG. 1d is a isometric hidden line view, FIG. 1e isan isometric view including a composite section cut, and FIG. 1f is aplan view including section cut 1 c—1 c;

FIGS. 2a-e are various views of a microfluidic device in accordance withan embodiment of the invention, wherein FIGS. 2a and 2 b are explodedisometric views, FIG. 2c is a isometric hidden line view, FIG. 2d is aplan view including section cut 2 e—2 e, and FIG. 2e is a cross-sectionview corresponding to section cut 2 e—2 e;

FIGS. 3a-e are various views of a microfluidic device in accordance withan embodiment of the invention that is a modification of the embodimentshown in FIGS. 2a-e, wherein FIGS. 3a and 3 b are exploded isometricviews, FIG. 3c is a isometric hidden line view, FIG. 3d is a plan viewincluding section cut 3 e—3 e, and FIG. 3e is a cross-section viewcorresponding to section cut 3 e—3 e;

FIGS. 4a-e are various views of a microfluidic device in accordance withan embodiment of the invention in which an array of poroussubstrate/sensors are employed, wherein FIG. 4a is an exploded isometricview, FIG. 4b is an assembled isometric view, FIG. 4c is a plan viewincluding section cuts 4 d—4 d and 4 e—4 e, FIG. 4d is a cross-sectionview corresponding to section cut 4 d—4 d, and FIG. 4e is across-section view corresponding to section cut 4 e—4 e;

FIGS. 5a-e are various views of a microfluidic device in accordance withan embodiment of the invention that is a variant of the embodiment ofFIGS. 4a-e in which a single porous substrate/sensor is employed,wherein FIG. 5a is an exploded isometric view, FIG. 5b is an assembledisometric view, FIG. 5c is a plan view including section cuts 5 d—5 dand 5 e—5 e, FIG. 5d is a cross-section view corresponding to sectioncut 5 d—5 d, and FIG. 5e is a cross-section view corresponding tosection cut 5 e—5 e;

FIGS. 6a-e are various views of a microfluidic device in accordance withan embodiment of the invention in which a plurality of upper channelsmeet at an intersection, wherein FIGS. 6a and 6 b are exploded isometricviews, FIG. 6c is an isometric hidden line view, FIG. 6d is a plan viewincluding section cut 6 e—6 e, and FIG. 6e is a cross-section viewcorresponding to section cut 6 e—6 e;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating operations that may be used tofabricate a porous membrane in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 7b is a flowchart illustrating operations that may be used tofabricate a porous membrane in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIGS. 8a-c depict various views of optical sensing equipment implementedfor detecting changes in an optical characteristic of a porousmembrane/sensor corresponding to the embodiment of FIGS. 1a-f, whereinvolumes internal to the substrate are shown;

FIGS. 9a-c depict various views of optical sensing equipment implementedfor detecting changes in an optical characteristic of a porousmembrane/sensor corresponding to the embodiment of FIGS. 4a-e whereinvolumes internal to the substrate are shown; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of theinvention for detecting changes in an electrical characteristic of aporous membrane/substrate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of a microfluidic device with an integrated porous-siliconmembrane for molecular sieving, metering, and separations, and methodsfor fabricating and using the same are described in detail herein. Inthe following description, numerous specific details are provided, suchas the identification of various system components, to provide athorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled inthe art will recognize, however, that embodiments of the invention canbe practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with othermethods, components, materials, etc. In still other instances,well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of various embodiments ofthe invention.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments.

As an overview, embodiments of the invention provide a microfluidicdevice with at least one integrated porous-silicon membrane to sieve,meter, and/or separate molecular components from an influent streamintroduced into the microfluidic device. Other features of theillustrated embodiments will be apparent to the reader from theforegoing and the appended claims, and as the detailed description anddiscussion is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

A microfluidic apparatus 100 in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention is shown in FIGS. 1a-f. Microfluidic apparatus 100 includes aplatform substrate 102 in which upper and lower microfluidic channels104 and 106 are formed. The upper and lower microfluidic channels areoriented such that the upper channel crosses over the lower channel at a“cross-channel” area 108. A porous substrate 110 is disposed between theupper and lower channels proximate to this cross-channel area. Asdescribed below in further detail, the porous substrate 110 includes aplurality of pores through which molecular portions of some fluids,including liquids and gases, may pass, while restricting passage ofother molecules.

In various embodiments, reservoirs may be connected to one or both endsof the upper channel and/or the lower channel. For example, in theillustrated embodiment, input and output reservoirs 112 and 114 areconnected at respective input and output ends of upper channel 104,while input and output reservoirs 116 and 118 are connected atrespective input and output ends of lower channel 106. In general, itwill be desired to have liquid flow through each of the upper and lowerchannels in a particular direction. In consideration of this, in oneembodiment the depth of the output reservoirs is extended below thechannel depth. As a result, when fluid is added to the input reservoirs,it is caused to flow through the channels to the output reservoirs. Inplace of or in addition to the output reservoirs, respective exit pathsfor the upper and lower channels may also be provided (not shown).

Generally, the platform substrate will comprise an upper and lower half,which are sandwiched around one or more porous membrane/sensors. Forexample, as shown in FIGS. 1E and 1F, the platform substrate includes anupper substrate member 120 and a lower substrate member 122. As shown inFIG. 1F, the upper microfluidic channel 104 is formed in the uppersubstrate member, while the lower microfluidic channel 106 is formed inthe lower substrate. In one embodiment, lower portions 116B, 118B and114B of input and output reservoirs 116 and 118 and output reservoir114, respectively are formed in the lower substrate member, whilecorresponding through holes 112A, 114A, 116A and 118A are defined in theupper substrate member. In general, the upper and lower substratemembers will be sandwiched around the porous membrane 110 upon assembly.Accordingly, a recess in which the porous membrane will be disposed uponassembly may be formed in either the upper or lower substrate member.For example, in the illustrated embodiment, a recess 124 is defined inupper substrate member 120.

An embodiment of a single “flow-through” microfluidic apparatus 200 isshown in FIGS. 2a-e. In one implementation a first reactant fluid entersan input reservoir 212 and flows into upper channel 204. At the sametime, a second reactant fluid enters an input/output reservoir 214 andflows into a lower channel 206. Portions of the first and secondreactants then pass through the pores in a porous membrane 210 and mixto produce a reaction. In a manner similar to that discussed above, inresponse to certain chemical reactions, the porous membrane may changean optical or electrical characteristic, thereby enabling the chemicalreaction to be sensed.

In another implementation of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2a-e, asingle fluid is input into input reservoir 212 and flows into upperchannel 204. A portion of the fluid then passes through porous membrane210 and into lower channel 206. The portion of the fluid passing throughthe porous membrane may then be collected in input/output reservoir 214.In this embodiment, the fluid may cause a change in an optical and/orelectrical characteristic of the porous membrane in a similar manner tothat discussed above.

In one embodiment, microfluidic apparatus 200 comprises a three-partassembly, including an upper substrate member 220, and a lower substratemember 222, which are sandwiched around porous membrane 210. As before,a recess may be formed in either the upper or lower substrate member toreceive the porous membrane, such as a recess 224 formed in uppersubstrate member 220.

A microfluidic apparatus 200A having a configuration substantiallysimilar to microfluidic apparatus 200 is shown in FIGS. 3a-e. Theprimary difference between the two apparatus' is that microfluidicapparatus 200A includes an exit port 230 rather than an input/outputreservoir 214. Modifications to accommodate this change are shown inupper and lower substrate members 220A and 222A.

A microfluidic apparatus 300 in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention is shown in FIGS. 4a-e. Microfluidic apparatus 300includes a plurality of upper channels 304A, 304B, and 304C formed in anupper substrate member 320 and a plurality of lower microfluidicchannels 306A, 306B, and 306C formed in a lower substrate member 322.Optionally, a plurality of input reservoirs 312 n (a-c) and 316 n andoutput reservoirs 314 n and 318 n may also be provided. In oneembodiment, a plurality of porous membranes 310 are disposed withinrespective recesses (not shown) in upper substrate member 320 in amanner similar to that described above. In another embodiment, a singleporous membrane 310A may be used, as shown in a microfluidic apparatus500A shown in FIGS. 5a-e. As yet another option, the single porousmembrane may be fabricated to include a plurality of porous sections,such as square or rectangular sections configured in an array (notshown).

A microfluidic apparatus 600 in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention is shown in FIGS. 6a-e. The apparatus includes an uppersubstrate member 622 in which three upper channels 604A, 604B, and 604Care formed. Optional input reservoirs 112 are disposed at the input endsof each of channels 604A-C, while the output ends of the channels meetat an intersection 611. The apparatus further includes a lower substratemember 622 in which a single lower microfluidic channel 606 is formed,wherein the lower substrate is similar in configuration with lowersubstrate member 164 for microfluidic apparatus 150. An output reservoir616 may also be provided to collect fluids exiting the lowermicrofluidic channel. The apparatus further includes a porous membrane610 disposed within a recess 624 formed in upper substrate member 620,wherein the recess is located proximate to intersection 611.

Microfluidic apparatus 600 will typically be used in the followingmanner. Respective fluid reactants will be received at the input ends ofthe upper microfluidic channels 604 (e.g., via input reservoirs 612A-C).The fluid reactants will then merge at intersection 611, causing achemical reaction. A portion of the reactant chemical compound therebyformed will flow into the pores in porous membrane 610, thereby causinga potential change in an optical and/or electrical characteristic of theporous membrane. Such a characteristic change may be measured in themanners described below.

Porous Membrane Manufacture and Characteristics

In accordance with one aspect, the porous membrane comprises a porousstructure that may be used for filtering, metering, and/or separatingchemical and/or biological molecules. In general, a porous membrane maybe manufactured such that its porosity is greatest along a selecteddirection. Furthermore, through the manufacturing process describedbelow, the pore sizes can be tuned from a few nanometers to micrometers,thereby enabling the filtration, metering and separation of targetedchemical and biological molecules.

In general, the porous membranes and porous membrane/sensors may be madefrom a wide-range of materials in which nano- and micro-porousstructures may be formed. For example, such materials include but arenot limited to single crystal porous silicon (PSi), porous polysilicon(PPSi), porous silica, zeolites, photoresists, porouscrystals/aggregates, etc. Typically, the porous membranes will be usedfor molecular separation and/or molecular (bio)reaction media withbuilt-in real-time detection/monitoring of processes, molecules, fluids,reaction states, etc.

In one embodiment, porous silicon is used for the porous membrane.Porous silicon is a well-characterized material produced throughgalvanostatic, chemical, or photochemical etching procedures in thepresence of HF (hydrofluoric acid) (A. G. Cullis et al., J. Appl. Phys.1997, 82, 909.). Porous silicon can be made generally as complex,anisotropic nanocrystalline structure in silicon layers (cf.,http://chem-faculty.ucsd.edu/sailor) by either electrochemical etchingor stain etching to form porous silicon. The size and orientation of thepores can be controlled by the etching conditions (e.g., currentdensity, etc.) and substrate type and its electrochemical properties (R.L. Smith, et al. “Porous silicon formation mechanisms”, J. Appl. Phys.,1992, 71, R1; P. M. Fauchet, “Pits and Pores: Formation, Properties, andSignificance for Advanced Luminescent Materials”, P. Schmuki, et al.,eds. Pennington, N.J.: Electrochem. Soc., 1997, 27). Typical pore sizesrange from ˜50 angstrom to ˜10 μm with high aspect ration (˜250) poresin silicon maintained over a distance of several millimeters.

Another type of porous silicon can be formed by spark erosion (R. E.Hummel, et. al., “On the origin of photoluminescence in spark-eroded(porous) silicon,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 1993, 63, 2771), resulting in a Sisurface with pits and hills of various sizes in the micrometer tonanometers scale. Si nanostructures can be produced by an anisotopicetch followed by oxidation (A. G. Nassiopoulos, et al., “Light emissionform silicon nanostructures produced by conventional lithographic andreactive ion etching techniques,” Phys. Stat. Sol. (B), 1995, 1990, 91;S. H. Zaidi, et al., “Scalable fabrication and optical characterizationof nm Si structures”, In Proc. Symp. Mater. Res. Soc., 1995, 358, 957.).Through oxidizing a microcrystalline film deposited by chemical vapordeposition, Si crystallites are passivated by SiO to formnanocrystalline structures (H. Tamura, et al., “Origin of the green/blueluminescence from nanocrystalline silicon,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 1994, 65,92).

With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7a, a process for manufacturingporous membrane N10 (e.g., 110, 310, etc.) in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention proceeds as follows. First, in a block 700,porous silicon is etched in a silicon layer of typically ˜0.01-50 μmthickness either electrochemically or by stain etching to form poroussilicon. In another embodiment, porous polysilicon (PPSi) is depositedby low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), in accordance with ablock 702. The size and orientation of the pores, porosity, grain size,thickness, etc., may be controlled via appropriate etching conditions(e.g., current density, current duration, etc.), deposition conditions(e.g., temperature, pressure, etc.), and also substrate type and itselectrochemical properties, etc.

Next, in a block 704, a PSi film (or PPSi film) is physically separatedby electropolishing “lift-off” from the PSi-etched or PPSi-depositedsilicon and suspended in solution. Alternately, PPSi film may be formedwhen directly deposited on a substrate (e.g., silicon, quartz, etc.),and can be physically separated by any of various standard etching ormicromachining techniques. The PSi or PPSi film is then secured within acorresponding recess formed in a substrate half proximate to across-channel area in a block 706.

In an alternate process shown in FIG. 7b, PPSi is directly depositedover the substrate cavity using LPCVD to from the porous membrane in ablock 708. Subsequently, in a block 710 a channel is etched in thesubstrate having a portion that passes under the deposited PPsi.Generally, the substrate may comprise any suitable material in which themicrofluidic channels may be formed (e.g., silicon, quartz, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), SU-8 photoresists), and polymers such aspolymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), etc.)

Real-Time Detection of Biological and Chemical Molecules/Compounds

As discussed above, in various embodiments the porous membrane may alsobe manufactured such that it may be used as a sensor in addition to itsfiltering/sieving/molecular separation capability. For example, theporous membrane may be manufactured to produce a changed optical and/orelectrical characteristic in response to being exposed to a targetedfluid or reaction, either through use of the base substrate material(e.g., PSi or PPSi), or through the addition of a sensor layer orthrough chemical doping and the like. Generally, such PSi or PPSi sensormechanisms may include but are not limited to optical interferometricreflectivity, capacitance modulation, photoluminescence, optical formbirefringence, acoustic, etc.

In one embodiment, optical changes may be observed by means of lightsource 800 and optical detector 802, as shown in FIGS. 8a-c and 9 a-c.(It is noted in these Figures only the volumes occupied by the reactantfluids, also commonly referred to solutes and analytes, and are shown,for clarity. Furthermore, the sizes of the various components are notdrawn to scale for clarity. Additionally, the dashes and crossesrepresent different chemical or biological compounds used for thereactions, wherein different cross-hatch densities and patterns depictdifferent compounds). In general, light source 800 may comprise anydevice that produces light suitable for detecting a change in a lightcharacteristic of the porous membrane/sensor in combination withcorresponding optical detection equipment or devices. For example, inone embodiment light source 800 comprises a laser source that produceslight at a specific wavelength.

Depending on the particular optical characteristics of the porousmembrane/sensor, visible or invisible light may be used. For visiblelight wavelengths, in one embodiment at least one of the upper and lowersubstrates is visibly transparent, meaning the substrate(s) producesminimal attenuation of visible light. In some instances, it may bedesirable to use light having a wavelength in the non-visible spectrum(infra-red) if exists. Many substrate materials are “opticallytranslucent” to these wavelengths, meaning these materials enable lighthaving certain non-visible wavelengths to pass through with minimalattenuation. As an option, various viewing hole configuration may bedefined in substrates that are opaque to light having a wavelength thatmay be used to detect the change in the optical characteristic of theporous membrane (not shown).

Generally, a variety of optical detectors may be employed, depending onthe particular optical characteristic to be observed. In one embodiment,the optical detector comprises a detector suitable for laserinterferometry. Other typical optical detector include but are notlimited to avalanche photodiodes, various photosensors, and otherdevices used to measure wavelength, phase shift, and or opticalenergy/power.

Typically, the optical detector may either include build-in data loggingfacilities, or external data logging equipment may be connected to theoptical detector, such as depicted by a data logger 804. As anotheroption, a computer 806 with a data-logging card or an electronicinstrument interface, such as the GPIB (General Purpose InstrumentationBus) interface may be used. The data logger may store the data locally,or on a computer network, such as in a data store hosted by a databaseor data system or storage area network (SAN) device.

For changes in an electrical characteristic, various electronicinstrumentation and/or circuits may be electrically coupled to theporous membrane to sense the changed condition. As discussed above, thismay be facilitated by microelectrical traces disposed in the substrate,such as depicted by microelectronic traces 1000 in FIG. 10. Optionally,the substrate may be directly wired to external circuitry and/orelectrical equipment, such as via wire bonding and the like. In oneembodiment, signal conditioning and/or test measurement circuitry may befabricated directly in the platform substrate, as is common in thesemiconductor manufacturing arts, as depicted by integrated circuit1002. Optionally, such signal conditioning and test measurementcircuitry may be provided in an electronic measurement device 1006and/or computer 1006.

Generally, the size of the channels and the cross-channel reactant areaoccupied by the porous membrane may be adjusted for the variousreactants used in the testing. The flow of the fluids and molecules canbe generated by standard microfluidics methods such as hydrostaticpressure, hydrodynamic, electrokinetic, electroosmotic, hydromagnetic,acoustic and ultrasound, mechanical, electrical field induced,heat-induced and other know methods. The flow-through micro-channelconfigurations (such as shown in FIGS. 1a-f, 4 a-e, and 5 a-e) allowflow-rate control, fluid dilutions, effective wash-out of the channels,minimum back-flow. Optionally, the flow may be blocked for incubations,diffusions, dilutions, etc., using standard microfluidic components anddevices. For non-flow through micro-channel configurations, such asshown in FIGS. 2a-e, 3 a-e, and 6 a-e, the number of inlets and outletsand size of the cross-channel area can be varied based on functionalrequirements, reactant behaviors, etc. Furthermore, massively parallelconfigurations in accordance with the principles illustrated by theembodiments of FIGS. 4a-e and 5 a-e may be manufactured and employed fortesting. In such instance, the porous membrane at each cross channel mayhave the same or different functionality (optical, biochemical,electrical, acoustic, etc.) as a sensor/detector, molecular separationor sieving filter, bioreactor (with surface modified nanopores,nanopores with immobilized biomolecules, surface coated nanopores, etc.)

While the invention is described and illustrated here in the context ofa limited number of embodiments, the invention may be embodied in manyforms without departing from the spirit of the essential characteristicsof the invention. The illustrated and described embodiments, includingwhat is described in the abstract of the disclosure, are therefore to beconsidered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Thescope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather thanby the foregoing description, and all changes that come within themeaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to beembraced therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a substrate havingdefined therein: an upper microfluidic channel passing through thesubstrate along a first direction; a lower microfluidic channel, passingthrough the substrate along a second direction, a portion of the lowermicrofluidic channel passing beneath a portion of the upper microfluidicchannel to form a cross-channel area; and a porous membrane disposedbetween the upper and lower microfluidic channels proximate to thecross-channel area to form a semi-permeable barrier between the upperand lower microfluidic channels.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe porous membrane comprises porous nanocrystalline silicon.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the porous membrane comprises porouspolysilicon.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a firstreservoir defined in the substrate and linked in fluid communicationwith one of the upper and lower microfluidic channels.
 5. The apparatusof claim 4, further comprising a second reservoir defined in thesubstrate and linked in fluid communication with the other of the upperand lower microfluidic channels not linked in fluid communication withthe first reservoir.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprisingrespective reservoirs defined in the substrate at opposing ends of atleast one of the upper and lower microfluidic channels.
 7. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the porous membrane exhibits sensing characteristicscausing a change in at least one of an optical and electricalcharacteristic in response to exposure to one or more particular solutesand/or analytes.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the sensingcharacteristic comprises a change in an optical characteristic, and theapparatus further comprises: a light source to direct a light toward theporous membrane; and a detector, to receive a portion of light reflectedoff of and/or emitted by the porous silicon membrane to detect thechange in the optical characteristic of the porous membrane.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 8, further comprising data collection equipmentlinked in communication with the detector to collect data pertaining tochanges in the optical characteristic of the porous membrane.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the sensing characteristic comprises anelectrical characteristic, and the substrate further includesmicroelectronic traces operatively coupled to the porous membrane. 11.The apparatus of claim 10, further including an electronic measurementdevice, coupled to the porous membrane via the microelectronic traces,to measure a change in an electrical characteristic of the poroussilicon membrane when it is exposed to said one or more particularfluids.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising datacollection equipment linked in communication with the electronicmeasurement device.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the porousmembrane has a median thickness ranging from about 10 nanometers toabout 50 micrometers.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the porousmembrane has a plurality of pores having a median diameter ranging fromranging from about 50 angstroms to about 10 micrometers.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises one of apolydimethyl siloxane (PDMS), silicon, quartz, polymer, orpolymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) substrate.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the substrate comprises an upper substrate member in which theupper microfluidic channel is formed and a lower substrate member inwhich the lower microfluidic channel is formed, said upper and lowersubstrate members being sandwiched around the porous substrate uponassembly.
 17. An apparatus, comprising: a substrate having definedtherein: a plurality of upper microfluidic channels passing through thesubstrate along a first direction; at least one lower microfluidicchannel, passing through the substrate along a second direction,respective portions of said at least one lower microfluidic channelpassing beneath respective portions of the upper microfluidic channel toform a plurality of respective cross-channel areas; and at least oneporous membrane disposed between the upper and lower channels proximateto the cross-channel areas to form a semi-permeable barrier between theupper and lower channels in respective areas proximate to the pluralityof cross-channel areas.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said atleast one lower microfluidic channel comprises a plurality of channels,and the plurality of cross-channel areas are substantially configured inan array.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said at least oneporous membrane comprise a plurality of porous membranes, eachrespectively disposed proximate to a respective cross-channel area. 20.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said at least one porous membranecomprises porous nanocrystalline silicon.
 21. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein said at least one porous membrane comprises porous polysilicon.22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the substrate comprises an uppersubstrate member in which the plurality of upper microfluidic channelsare formed and a lower substrate member in which said at least one lowermicrofluidic channel is formed, said upper and lower substrate membersbeing sandwiched around said at least one porous silicon substrate uponassembly.
 23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the porous siliconmembrane exhibits a sensing characteristic causing a change in at leastone of an optical and electrical characteristic in response to exposureto one or more particular solutes and/or analytes.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 17, wherein the sensing characteristic comprises a change in anoptical characteristic, and the apparatus further comprises: a lightsource to direct a light toward the porous membrane; and a detector, toreceive a portion of light reflected off of and/or emitted by the poroussilicon membrane to detect the change in the optical characteristic ofthe porous membrane.
 25. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the sensingcharacteristic comprises an electrical characteristic, and the substratefurther includes microelectronic traces operatively coupled to theporous membrane.
 26. An apparatus, comprising: a substrate havingdefined therein: a plurality of upper microfluidic channels formed inthe substrate, each upper microfluidic channel having a first end and asecond end, said second ends merging together at an intersection; alower microfluidic channel formed in the substrate and having a firstend disposed beneath the intersection; and a porous membrane disposedbetween the upper and lower microfluidic channels proximate to theintersection to form a semi-permeable barrier between the upper andlower microfluidic channels.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26, furthercomprising a plurality of reservoirs disposed in the substrate, eachrespectively disposed a first end of a respective upper microfluidicchannel.
 28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the substrate comprisesan upper substrate member in which the plurality of upper microfluidicchannels are formed and a lower substrate member in which the lowermicrofluidic channel is formed, said upper and lower substrate membersbeing sandwiched around the porous silicon substrate upon assembly. 29.The apparatus of claim 26, wherein said at least one porous membranecomprises one of porous nanocrystalline silicon or porous polysilicon.30. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the porous membrane exhibits asensing characteristic causing a change in at least one of an opticaland electrical characteristic in response to exposure to one or moreparticular solutes and/or analytes.